Following the Supreme Court’s orders, the Centre Thursday issued orders asking states and Union Territories to ensure that salaries of doctors and health workers on coronavirus-related duty are released on time. The government clarified that non-payment of salaries would amount to an offence. The order was issued by Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. In its order, the Centre asked chief secretaries of the states and UTs to ensure that the direction is complied with. On Wednesday, an SC bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, S K Kaul and M R Shah had directed the government to issue orders asking the states and UTs to ensure that doctors and health workers are not denied their salary and to make non-payment of the same a punishable offence.
